Generally stated, an SoC is a type of IC combing one or more processors and other microelectronic components or elements on a single substrate, such as singulated piece of a bulk silicon wafer, a singulated piece of a silicon-on-insulator wafer, or the like. In addition to a primary processor, an SoC may also include additional processors, a GPU, RF or other wireless communication components, and perhaps integrated “on-chip” storage areas. Due to their compact size and relatively low power consumption characteristics, SoCs are incorporated into wide variety of consumer electronic devices or systems, particularly smart phones, tablets, wearable devices, and other portable, compact electronic devices. When incorporated into an electronic device or system, an SoC may be mounted to and electrically interconnected with electrically-conductive routing features provided on a supportive substrate, such as metal traces and contact pads provided on a printed wiring board.
While providing the above-noted advantages, SoCs remained limited in certain respects. For example, conventional SoCs are often produced as unsecured devices lacking secure boot functionalities; that is, features by which the integrity or authenticity of firmware and, more broadly, software components can be reliably verified upon SoC startup utilizing cryptographic information. This represents a limitation when it is desired to utilize an unsecured SoC to securely boot other electronic components, such as embedded software components, contained within the larger electronic device or system. Secure booting may be desirably performed to protect embedded devices from inadvertently loading malicious software upon startup. In other instances, secure booting of embedded components may be desirable or required to satisfy regulations issued by a regulatory authority, such as the FCC. There consequently exists an ongoing demand for the development of unsecured SoCs capable of providing secure boot functionalities. Embodiments of unsecured SoCs having secure boot functionalities are provided herein, as are devices containing secure boot-enabled SoCs and methods carried-out thereby.